KRUGMAN: America's Best Hope Is That The Presidential Candidates Are Lying Through Their Teeth

Last night, the Institute for New Economic Thinking and the
Fashion Institute of Technology hosted a conversation with Nobel
laureates Joseph
Stiglitz and Paul
Krugman.

The key discussion topics were the sluggish U.S. economy and the
upcoming elections.

Both economists pointed to the Great Depression as a road map for
how the U.S. can get out of its current slump.

Krugman argued that one of the key factors that helped stimulate
the economy out of the Depression was the buildout of
infrastructure, which is exactly what state and local governments
have been cutting back on today.

"We don't talk about austerity, but we're doing it!" interjected
Stiglitz. He further argued that the biggest risk to the
economy right now would be a Mitt
Romney victory.

Krugman then joked that he hopes that neither candidate will
follow through on any of their proposed cuts. He went on to
say that it says something about the state of the economy when
"the best hope is that [the presidential candidates] are lying
through their teeth."

Both agreed that spending is crucial for economies coming out of
a crisis, and the if government's do cut, they risk send their
countries into depression.